Description of novel species of psychedelic mushrooms from Southern Africa
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Date
2022
Authors
Maloka, Onalerona Orefilempho
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
The chemical compound psilocybin, responsible for causing hallucinations, is found in mushroom species of genera such as Gymnopilus, Panaeolus, Pluteus, and Psilocybe. Psilocybin also has a number of psychiatric and medical applications. Psilocybin-producing mushrooms have a wide distribution in South Africa and other parts of the world, but the biodiversity of these fungi is poorly known in South Africa. This study focused on the species identification of two sets of collections of Psilocybe, one from Lesotho and the other from Pretoria, based on morphology and different DNA sequence phylogenetic markers. A multi-locus phylogeny was constructed using the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS), RNA Polymerase II (RPB 1), and Translational Elongation Factor 1α (TEF-1α) gene regions. More than one marker was used to confirm identifications, and by combining the sequences, to also obtain better statistical support for groupings. By using the additional genes besides ITS, the usefulness of these additional markers to identify Psilocybe species was also investigated. Results showed that the two collections of samples were unique and different from each other based on all of the genes, except for the RPB 1 region that was found wanting. Although the TEF-1α was found sufficiently variable to also distinguish species similar to the ITS region, a relatively small number of species have been sequenced up to date. The distinct grouping of the two collections was confirmed by a number of macro- and micromorphological characteristics, and described as Psilocybe malotiensis prov. nom. and Psilocybe orontawuli prov. nom. respectively. Results from this study represent an important breakthrough where Southern African samples can now be sequenced and compared with specimens from elsewhere and should illustrate the presence of numerous novel species occurring in this region.
Description
Keywords
Dissertation (M.Sc. (Genetics))--University of the Free State, 2022, Psilocybe, South Africa, psilocybin, ITS, TEF, RPB